Trouble Looming at
International Borders
THE LAST FEW months of the eighth year of the Islamic calendar, which begins with the Prophet’s settlement in Madinah, brought about a total change in the map of Arabia which was bound to have an effect on the whole region. It may be useful to remind ourselves that the authority of the Byzantine Empire extended to the area which today forms Palestine and Jordan. These areas, as well as southern Syria, were under the rule of an Arab governor from the tribe of Ghassān who exercised his limited authority as an agent of the Byzantine Emperor. It is a well-known fact of history that changes of a radical nature in one country are bound to affect neighbouring countries. Hence, it is only natural that the Byzantine Empire should keep a close eye on what was happening in Arabia.
Before the advent of Islam, the emperors of Byzantium looked at Arabia as a vast desert which could present no trouble to their Empire. It was thinly populated by tribes who were often at loggerheads with one another. These tribes were not expected to present a threat of any kind to one of the two superpowers of the day. Internal feuding among these tribes was the surest of guarantees against any trouble emanating from their area. This was perhaps a major reason for the emperors of Byzantium not to try to extend their rule over Arabia itself; there was little to tempt them to do so.
The Arabs themselves lived in awe of their great neighbour. They tried not to meddle with the affairs of the Byzantine Empire or its semi-autonomous regions closest to them. They were happy to have the reassurance that the Emperor in Byzantium did not concern himself unduly with their own affairs.
All this underwent a radical change over a period of a few years. When Islam moved to Madinah and established its small state there, this might have looked to the ruler in Byzantium as one of the numerous insignificant developments which constantly took place in that area of tribal warfare. That ruler, however, might have felt the need to take a closer look at what was happening in the heart of Arabia a few years later, when Islam scored one success after another against its enemies. Whether he did take such a look or not, he was soon to be disturbed by a strong knock on his own door in the form of an emissary from the Prophet calling on the then greatest ruler on earth to submit himself to God and to accept the authority of God’s Messenger. The first contact between the Muslim state and the Byzantine Empire was described in detail earlier on, as was the Battle of Mu’tah, the first military encounter between the new Islamic state and the Byzantine Empire. Although that battle ended in a military defeat, in the technical sense, for the Muslims, it must have been an unpleasant jolt to the Byzantine Emperor. A force of 3,000 Muslims was able to cause enormous trouble to a Byzantine army at least 50 times bigger, and to inflict heavy losses on it.
Close Monitoring of Arabian Affairs
When the Byzantine Emperor looked at Arabia some 18 months later, the political map looked very different to him. There was no longer any war going on in Arabia. All resistance to the new message of Islam there had collapsed. Makkah itself, for so long the focus of opposition to the Prophet and his message, had now confirmed its loyalty to him. The new faith was making inroads into Makkan society at a great rate. All other major tribes of Arabia, such as the Hawāzin and the Thaqīf, were forced to admit their helplessness against the rising tide of Islam. The Hawāzin were quick to try their luck against Islam after the fall of Makkah, and that helped them to recognize their error and to remedy it by declaring their acceptance of the new faith. The Thaqīf, on the other hand, were so helpless that the Prophet decided that there was no point in maintaining their siege. It was only a matter of time before they were bound to come into the fold. Moreover, the Jews in Arabia no longer represented any threat of any kind to Islam. Looking at the Arabian scene at the end of the eighth year of the Prophet’s settlement in Madinah, the Byzantine Emperor would have been startled to realize that all Arabia was now loyal to the Prophet.
The first four months of the ninth year of the Islamic calendar were relatively quiet. The Prophet, however, was soon to hear that the Byzantines were raising a large force to attack the Muslim state and try to inflict on it a heavy defeat which, they hoped, would cut it down to size. The Prophet verified the information and soon found out that it was accurate. It was mostly communicated by Coptic traders who came to Arabia to sell their goods.
There were several indications which suggested that the Byzantines showed great interest in what was taking place in the Muslim state. For one thing, a companion of the Prophet who was boycotted by the Muslim community because of his failure to join the Muslim army on the expedition of Tabūk, without any valid reason for his failure, was contacted by the Ghassānī ruler, who was an agent of the Byzantine Emperor, offering him asylum and a good position. This will be discussed in more detail in the next chapter, but the point here is that the case of that companion of the Prophet was a very localized case and the ruler of the Ghassān would not have heard of it unless he had constant contact with some elements in Madinah. These elements must have belonged to the group of hypocrites who pretended to be Muslims. That was a false pretence, but there were quite a few such people in Madinah. They were largely people who were too cowardly to acknowledge their lack of faith and felt that their pretending to be Muslims could serve certain interests of theirs.
Another example of the interest shown by the Byzantine Empire in the affairs of the Muslim state is the case of Abū ʿĀmir al-Rāhib. Abū ʿĀmir was a man of high standing in Madinah before the arrival of Islam there. He had expected that a prophet was bound to come soon and harboured the aspiration that he would be the chosen Prophet. When he realized that his aspiration was not to be fulfilled after the arrival of the Prophet in Madinah, he defected to the Quraysh. Later, he defected to Byzantium and tried to raise support there against the Prophet. Apparently, the Byzantine Emperor received him well and promised him support. Abū ʿĀmir then established contact with some of the hypocrites in Madinah, promising them to raise an army to fight the Prophet at the appropriate time. He encouraged them to establish headquarters which could be used by his emissaries to them and could serve in the meantime as an outpost for his people.
A Mosque for Intrigue
Having gained experience in scheming against the Muslim state, the hypocrites in Madinah thought of the devilish idea of building a mosque and inviting the Prophet to pray there. They chose a site close to the Mosque of Qubā’, which was built by the Prophet as he made his first journey to Madinah. Qubā’ was a few kilometres from Madinah, and building a mosque for the hypocrites there would serve the dual purpose of giving credence to their pretence to be good Muslims and at the same time allowing them to stay away from the watchful eyes of the closest companions of the Prophet. When they had completed their building work, they came to the Prophet as he was preparing to go on his expedition to Tabūk and said to him: “Messenger of God, we have built a mosque for the poor and the weak. It is easy for the people away from Madinah to use on rainy nights. We would be grateful if you would come and offer your prayers there.” They used this stratagem in order to win the Prophet’s sanction for their efforts. The Prophet said to them: “You see that we are preparing for a long journey, and we are busy with our preparations. When we come back, God willing, we will visit your place and pray there.”
On his way back from Tabūk, the Prophet was informed by God that those hypocrites intended to use their mosque only to spread unfaith and to sow the seeds of division within the ranks of the believers. They also wanted it to be an outpost for those who fought against God and His Messenger. The Prophet, therefore, sent some of his companions to destroy that mosque before his arrival in Madinah. The whole incident is related in the Qur’ān (verses 107-110 of Sūrah 9, Repentance, which is largely devoted to revealing the truth about the hypocrites).1
There were other indications which confirmed that the Byzantine Empire maintained a close watch on what was happening in the Muslim state and in Arabia generally. It was natural, therefore, that the Prophet should take seriously the report that the Byzantines were mobilizing to attack the Muslim state. As has already been seen, the Prophet always adopted the strategy of attack as the best form of defence. That applied when his wars were mostly against Arabian tribes of large or limited capabilities. Could the same strategy be effective against the greater of the two superpowers of the time?
The Best Form of Defence
When intelligence reached the Prophet that the Byzantines were mobilizing to attack the Muslim state in Arabia, he was further informed that the Byzantine troops were being raised in Syria. The Emperor had given his soldiers their salaries and allowances for a year in advance. The Arab tribes of Lakhm, Judhām, ʿĀmilah and Ghassān also mobilized to join the Byzantine army. Their forces moved into the plains of Balqā’ in Palestine.2 The choice which the Prophet faced was, according to historians, that he could either allow the Byzantines to penetrate into the desert of Arabia before meeting up with them at a place of his own choosing, or alternatively he could start by launching an attack against them. The first alternative was the easier one for the Muslims. However, it involved the risk of losing the loyalty of a number of tribes in northern Arabia, which had only recently entered into an alliance with the Muslims. Hence, the Prophet chose the second alternative.
That was not an easy choice. One can only imagine the dilemma of any small or medium-sized state of today’s world finding itself in a position where it has to choose to launch an attack on the United States, or alternatively allow that superpower to attack it.
The Muslim state was in such a position barely four months after Arabia had become united under the leadership of the Prophet. Needless to say, the Prophet himself did not fear the consequences of challenging the authority of the Byzantine Empire. He trusted to God to bring about the desirable victory. When he made up his mind to go on the attack, the Prophet was simply continuing his policy that attack was the best form of defence. Moreover, it was only proper to trust to the power of God, Who had never let him down.
One must remember that it is not easy to get rid of well-established notions. Although the majority of the Arabs were now Muslims, they had until very recently held the Byzantines in awe. They could not have imagined themselves in opposition to the Byzantine Emperor. How could they now view the prospect of challenging Byzantium and its mighty forces?
The call to arms was announced in the month of Rajab, which happened to fall at the height of summer when the weather was extremely hot and travelling in the desert was almost unbearable. At that time of year people simply wanted to remain at home and do very little work. The prospect of going on a journey of up to 1,000 kilometres on camel back was not one which anyone could look forward to. Nevertheless, it had to be done. The Muslim state was facing an emergency, and emergencies impose their own rules. The call to arms was spread all over Arabia, so that all new Muslims could join up.
For the first time in his history, the Prophet specified his destination. In the past, whenever he intended to attack any people, the Prophet would not specify the particular place he was going to, or the particular tribe he intended to attack, hoping to take his enemies by surprise. This time, the difficulties presented by the journey made him inform the Muslims exactly where they were going, so that everyone could prepare himself as best he could for the difficult task ahead. Obviously, it would have been an ideal situation if every Muslim soldier could have his own camel to ride. That, however, was not easy to arrange. Most people lacked any means of transport. It was imperative that the mobilization should be a mobilization of all resources. Money, horses and camels were badly needed as well as soldiers.
Donations for the War Effort
The Prophet addressed the believers and encouraged them to respond to the call to jihād. He also reminded them of the importance of spending their money for the cause of God. He encouraged the rich to spend generously. The emergency the Muslim state was facing necessitated pooling all resources. Once again, the best response came from those companions of the Prophet who had always shown themselves to be in the forefront to meet any emergency. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf donated 200 ounces of silver. Al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, the Prophet’s uncle, gave a large donation, said to be 90,000 dirhams, or 9,000 dinars. Ṭalḥah ibn ʿUbaydellāh, Saʿd ibn ʿUbādah and Muhammad ibn Maslamah all donated generously. ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb divided all his property into two halves and brought in one half as a donation. Abū Bakr brought in all his property. When the Prophet asked him what he had kept for his family, Abū Bakr answered: “God and His Messenger.”
The largest donation of all, however, was made by ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān. When the Prophet made his speech encouraging his companions to donate generously, ʿUthmān said: “My commitment is to provide 100 camels with all their equipment.” As the Prophet descended one step from the pulpit, ʿUthmān made a further commitment of 100 camels, fully equipped for the journey. The Prophet came one step further down and ʿUthmān increased his commitment to 300 camels, fully equipped. The Prophet was so deeply touched by the donation made by ʿUthmān that he waved with his hand to express his admiration. He also said: “ʿUthmān will not suffer in consequence of anything he does in future.” What this meant was that ʿUthmān’s reward for his most generous donation was bound to outweigh any sin he might commit in future years. It also suggests that a person motivated by his deep faith to donate so generously could not be shaken, no matter what happens to him. Both facts were true of ʿUthmān. ʿUthmān also made a further financial donation which cannot be easily determined. According to certain reports, it was 1,000 dinars. Other reports put the figure at 10,000 dinars. Whichever amount it was, it was certainly a very generous donation which showed his unequalled generosity and willingness to help the Islamic cause as much as he could. The Prophet said on this occasion: “The one who has equipped the ‘hardship army’ has been forgiven his past sins by God.”
‘The hardship army’ was the title given by the Muslims and historians to that expedition when the Muslims moved to meet the forces of the Byzantine Empire. Nothing describes that expedition more aptly than this title. It was an expedition beset by hardships from the very first moment. It, therefore, presented a difficult test for the believers.
All believers shared in the mobilization. Women sent in their jewellery to help equip the fighters with arms and transport. Everyone gave what he or she could give. If any believer had a camel to spare, he would give it to one or two of those who responded to the call to arms but did not have any means of transport, to share it between them. The believers realized that they had a difficult task ahead and they had to show that they could always be relied upon to respond well to the challenge facing them.3
A Test for the Faithful
It has already been mentioned that the Prophet specified the objective of the mission he was undertaking. One reason for breaking his very useful habit of keeping his destination a secret was that knowing the difficulty of the task ahead was bound to deter many a hypocrite from joining the army. Past experience showed that whenever those who were weak in faith or were hypocrites joined a Muslim army in any expedition, matters went wrong in one way or another. The Prophet wanted only those who were dedicated to the cause of Islam and willing to make whatever sacrifice was required of them to go with him. Only those people were useful soldiers when the going was bound to be hard. When the call to arms was made and those hypocrites realized what was required of the believers, they found themselves in a difficult spot. What position should they take? Should they demonstrate their reluctance, thereby giving themselves away and making their lack of faith well known? Or should they join in that army and undertake a journey which could be very difficult indeed?
In Sūrah 9 of the Qur’ān, Repentance, a lengthy passage is devoted to describe the attitude of the hypocrites. One should remember here that these were people who pretended to be in the Muslim camp, but were not true Muslims. The task of facing the Byzantine Empire in war was far too awesome for them to contemplate. It should be pointed out that in comparison to the Byzantine Empire the Muslim state was only a small, underdeveloped country suffering a shortage of everything needed in war: arms, material resources and men. It was not surprising, therefore, that most of the hypocrites decided to give that expedition a miss. They certainly had to seek excuses for not joining the Muslim army. Their excuses were mostly absurd. Some of them said that the hot summer was not suitable for war, and advised the Muslims not to go to war in the summer. The Qur’ān replies to this: “The fire of Hell is much hotter.”
Absurdity Knows No Limits
The most absurd excuse, however, was that given by a man called al-Jadd ibn Qays. The Prophet met him one day as mobilization was going on and said to him: “How do you fancy fighting the Byzantines this year.” Al-Jadd said: “I would rather you excuse me and not put me to such a severe test. My people know very well that no man is more infatuated by women than I am. I fear that if I see the Byzantine women and their beauty I may not be able to resist the temptation.”
The Prophet left him after saying: “I excuse you.” This particular incident is referred to in the Qur’ān as Sūrah 9 discusses the attitude of the hypocrites.
The hypocrites did not seek excuses only for themselves. They tried to discourage the believers from joining the army and to portray the impending encounter with the Byzantines as one of great danger. They spoke ill of the Prophet and tried to show that the decision to fight the Byzantines was not the result of proper and careful planning and consideration. Some of them said to the believers: “Muhammad wants to fight the Byzantines despite the lack of resources, the hot weather and the long distance separating them from us. Does he imagine that fighting the Byzantines will be as simple as inter-tribal warfare among the Arabs? It is easy to imagine his companions being driven in chains tomorrow by the Byzantines.”
This is not a surprising attitude by people who were weak of faith when they considered the Byzantine Empire in the same light as most people view the super-powers of today. The prospect of any small country declaring war on the stronger of the two super-powers is not easy to contemplate in purely human terms. The hypocrites, however, did not reckon with faith as the prime motivator of the believers. Their leader, ʿAbdullāh ibn Ubayy, took all the steps which gave the impression that the hypocrites were joining the Muslim army. He chose a place for his supporters to encamp at. There were many of them pretending to be ready to go with the Muslim army. When the time came, however, and the Muslims marched northwards, ʿAbdullāh ibn Ubayy and his followers stayed behind, just as they did at the Battle of Uḥud.4
A highly contrasting attitude was shown by some of the believers whose poverty did not enable them to arrange transport for themselves. There were seven people, mostly from the Anṣār, who could not manage to get any camel or horse to travel with the Prophet and the Muslim army. They, therefore, went to the Prophet to explain their situation and request him to give them some transport. The Prophet explained that he had nothing available. All the horses and camels were allotted to other people and many camels were already shared by two or more people. The seven men realized that they were missing a valuable chance of going on a campaign with the Prophet. They went back to their homes with tears in their eyes. Again, this particular incident is mentioned in the Qur’ān where it absolves them of all blame for not joining the army. It was not to be expected that any person could walk all the way to Syria, which was over 1,000 kilometres away. Even if some people were prepared to walk, the army could not afford to move at walking pace.
Two of the seven men, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Kaʿb and ʿAbdullāh ibn Mughaffal, were still in tears when they met a man called Yāmīn ibn ʿUmayr. He asked them why they were crying and they told him that they were prevented from joining the army by their poverty and the fact that the Prophet did not have any spare camels to give them. He offered them a camel of his own to share between them and they were thus able to join.
Certain reports suggest that the Prophet subsequently received some camels and was able to give them to those men. So their desire to join the Prophet on that expedition was doubly gratified. It must be mentioned here that there was no question about the feelings of those people. They genuinely wanted to go with the Prophet, and the prospect of fighting the Byzantine army did not alarm them in any way, as it alarmed the hypocrites.5
Undermining the Army’s Morale
The hypocrites were able to mix with Muslim society with ease. To all appearances, they were Muslims. Only at a time when true feelings were tested was the reality of their lack of faith apparent. When a genuine Muslim discovered that a friend of his, or someone with whom he had some social or business relationship, was not truly a Muslim, he made his loyalty to Islam absolutely clear. A man called Makhshan ibn Ḥumayyir was with a group of people when they started to speak about the awesome prospect of fighting the Byzantines. They spoke about the military prowess of the Byzantines and suggested that the Muslims would come out of their impending encounter with a result totally different from the victories they used to score against other Arab tribes. Makhshan made his feelings known to them: “What an enormity you have uttered! I wish to God that He would accept that each one of us be given a hundred lashes and be absolved of the consequences of what you have said, without it being mentioned in the Qur’ān.”
The Prophet was informed by God of what those people had said. He sent one of his old companions, ʿAmmār ibn Yāsir, to ask them about it. He told them that if they denied saying anything, he would tell them exactly what they had said. When ʿAmmār did that, they came to the Prophet to apologize. One of their number, Wadīʿah ibn Thābit, spoke to the Prophet without dismounting from his camel: “Messenger of God, we were only joking and jesting.” His words are also quoted in the Qur’ān. Makhshan ibn Ḥumayyir apologized to the Prophet, and he was the only one to be pardoned of those involved in that incident. He changed his name to ʿAbd al-Raḥmān and prayed to God to grant him martyrdom by being killed in a place where his body would not be found. God answered his prayers and he was killed at the Battle of Yamāmah, but no trace of him was ever found.6
The expedition of Tabūk is the name Muslim historians give to that campaign which was envisaged to culminate in a military conflict between the Muslims and the Byzantine Empire, which would perhaps be taking place in the southern parts of Syria or Palestine. The expedition of Tabūk was full of invaluable lessons for the advocates of Islam in all generations and societies. It posed a very hard test which could have been passed only by a person whose faith was his prime motivator. Anyone who harboured doubts about the truth of Islam was certain to fail that test. That expedition showed clearly who were the true believers who could be relied upon in times of difficulty. Their response was highly gratifying to the Prophet. The hypocrites, on the other hand, sought all sorts of excuses to relieve themselves of the task of keeping up appearances. So, when the army started its march, ʿAbdullāh ibn Ubayy and most of his fellow hypocrites stayed behind. The army left Madinah in the height of summer. The excessive desert heat, added to the great distance the army was supposed to traverse, combined to make its march exceedingly difficult. Yet the believers did not hesitate to join the army. There were 30,000 of them, which made that army the largest ever during the Prophet’s time.7
There were some people who had genuine reasons to stay behind, and there were some who were asked by the Prophet to do so. Historians differ as to whom the Prophet asked to deputize for him in Madinah. Some of them mention Muhammad ibn Maslamah of the Anṣār; others suggest that it was Sibāʿ ibn ʿArfaṭah who was given that task. ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, the Prophet’s cousin and one of the earliest to adopt Islam, also stayed behind. The Prophet asked him to look after his family during his absence. The hypocrites slandered ʿAlī and started to whisper that the Prophet did not like his presence and wished to be relieved of his company. When this rumour was circulated in Madinah, ʿAlī carried his arms and followed the army at high speed. He caught up with them at their first encampment, a short distance from Madinah. He told the Prophet what the hypocrites were saying. The Prophet said: “They are telling lies. I have asked you to stay in order to look after those I left behind. Go back, then, and take care of my family and yours. Are you not satisfied, ʿAlī, to be with me in the same relationship as Aaron was with Moses? The only difference is that there can be no Prophet after me.” ʿAlī then went back to Madinah and the Prophet proceeded with his expedition.8
Four people whose faith was not to be doubted were still in Madinah when the army moved on – Kaʿb ibn Mālik, Murārah ibn al-Rabīʿ, Hilāl ibn Umayyah and Abū Khaythamah. They were all known to be true believers. Nevertheless, they were still in Madinah when the army was on its way. The first three were to have very special treatment which will be discussed in due course. Abū Khaythamah, whose name was Mālik ibn Qays, had a different story.
A few days after the army had moved, Abū Khaythamah came back home to rest on a day when it was extremely hot. He had two wives. At home, there were all the comforts one needed on such a hot day. Each of his two wives had prepared her sitting place in a well-shaded area of the yard. Each had prepared food and cold water for her husband. Both were awaiting his arrival.
When Abū Khaythamah came in, he looked at his two wives and what they had prepared for him. The thought of the Prophet moving along on his journey was before his eyes. He said to his wives: “God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) is suffering the burning sun and the stormy wind, while I, Abū Khaythamah, enjoy the cool shade and the delicious food in the company of two pretty women in my own home? This is not fair. By God, I will not enter either of your two places until I have caught up with God’s Messenger. Prepare some food for me to keep me going on my journey.” When the food was prepared, he mounted his camel and went as fast as he could. He did not manage to catch up with the army until it arrived at Tabūk.
On his way, Abū Khaythamah met ʿUmayr ibn Wahb, who was also travelling fast to catch up with the army. Apparently, ʿUmayr, who was frequently sent on different errands by the Prophet and acted as his ambassador to rulers of other countries, had some good reason for his delay. The two travelled together until they were close to Tabūk. Abū Khaythamah then said to ʿUmayr: “I have perpetrated something bad. It may be advisable for you to slow down a little until I catch up with the Prophet, peace be upon him.”
ʿUmayr slowed down and Abū Khaythamah continued to travel at speed. When his figure was visible to the army encamping at Tabūk, some of the companions of the Prophet drew his attention to that person travelling alone. The Prophet said: “Let it be Abū Khaythamah.” When the man drew nearer, they said: “Messenger of God, it is indeed Abū Khaythamah.”
When he reached the place where the Prophet was, he dismounted and greeted the Prophet. The Prophet spoke to him a phrase which implied warning. Interpreters suggest that it meant that he, Abū Khaythamah, brought himself very close to destruction. Abū Khaythamah related his story and the Prophet prayed to God to forgive him.
This was an example of how faith motivated people. Abū Khaythamah did not forget the Prophet and the situation he was in at a time when his own situation should have reduced everything else to insignificance. He realized that his place was with the Prophet and the Muslim army. When comforts beckoned, he was mindful of the discomfort his fellow Muslims were suffering. He had been slow to respond to the call of arms, but he did not allow his own comfort and enjoyment to distract him from his duty for long. When the full dimensions of the situation were clear before him, he wasted no time in rectifying this omission.9
The Prophet accepted Abū Khaythamah’s apology and pardoned him. He even prayed to God to forgive him. This is the normal Islamic attitude. Any slip, error or sin is easily forgiven provided that the perpetrator turns to God in repentance and is sincere in his resolve not to sink back into error again. Islam realizes that human beings are subject to all sorts of temptations and can easily be turned away from the path of faith. What is needed is an assured welcome when a stray sheep comes back into the flock. Without such a chance we all would have been doomed, because we are always making mistakes and yielding to temptation.
This is a perfectly logical attitude of the religion of Islam, which welcomes every new Muslim with open arms. No matter how great one’s past mistakes, how grave one’s sins, the moment one accepts Islam is considered a new birth. One turns over a new leaf in one’s own life and is, to all intents and purposes, a new person. This attitude is extended to Muslims who weaken before temptation. When they repent sincerely, they are assured of forgiveness. Needless to say, this applies to all Muslim men and women.
The Going is Tough, the Means Scarce
As has been seen, the expedition of Tabūk presented a challenge to every single man to give credence to his claim to belong to the Muslim nation. To do that he had to pass a number of tests, the first of which was when the Muslims were called upon by the Prophet to put in all their resources in order to raise a large and properly equipped army to take on the much larger forces of the Byzantine Empire. We have seen how the true believers responded to that call, but what can a poor man do in such circumstances? When the going gets tough and the means are scarce, how can a man with no money buy a camel, or a share of a camel, in order to join the campaign of the believers? Jihād, or struggle for the cause of God, demands sacrifice of either body or money or both. In the circumstances just before the expedition of Tabūk, a man with no money could do nothing. Yet there were examples of a high standard of faith attained by some of those very poor people.
ʿUlbah ibn Zayd was one such poor person. He yearned to go with the Muslim army, but could not find the means to do so. One night, he was alone in his home. He woke up and prayed for a long while. He reflected on the situation and tears sprang to his eyes. Then he addressed God with this emotional prayer: “My Lord, You have commanded us to go on jihād and You have encouraged us not to abandon this duty. Yet You have not given me what I need in order to be able to go on this campaign. Your Messenger cannot give me any means of transport. I therefore give in charity to every Muslim any right which I hold against him for a wrong he had done to me, whether in matters of money or self or honour.”
The following morning, the man joined the dawn prayers as he always did. The Prophet asked: “Where is the man who was charitable last night?” Nobody answered. The Prophet repeated the question and said: “Let this man stand up.” ʿUlbah stood up and explained to the Prophet what he had done. The Prophet said: “By Him who holds my soul in His hand, this has been credited to you as zakāt accepted by God.”10
This is a case of a man who would dearly have loved to join the Muslim campaign. What he wanted was the chance to scale the height of sacrifice and lay down his life in the service of God’s cause. He was unable to do so because of his poverty. However, he was rich in spirit. He felt that the least he could do was to forgo, for the sake of God, any right he held against any Muslim who might not have been in similarly difficult circumstances.
Unable to Keep Pace
The Prophet was fully aware of the magnitude of the problem of hypocrisy. He, therefore, wanted the challenge posed by the campaign to be a continuous one. That would give him and the Muslim community a better chance of knowing those elements in their midst who did not harbour any good feelings towards Islam, the Prophet or the Muslim community. As we have said repeatedly, the going was very tough indeed. It was only natural, therefore, that among those 30,000 who were in the army, there would be some who might not be able to keep pace with the rest. Every time a man fell behind, his case was reported to the Prophet. Every time the Prophet gave the same answer: “Leave him alone. If he is good, God will see to it that he will catch up with you. If he is otherwise, good riddance.” The Prophet wanted to emphasize to all his companions that he would wait for no one. He who cared to be with the Prophet should not allow himself to be distracted by anything, not even his camel tiring.
At one stage of the journey, a man of no lesser standing in the Muslim community than Abū Dharr, one of the Muhājirīn and one of the first to accept Islam, was falling behind. His camel was no longer able to keep pace with the army. Abū Dharr tried hard to make his camel move faster. All his efforts were to no avail. Some of his fellow Muslims went to the Prophet and reported that Abū Dharr had fallen behind. The Prophet repeated the same answer: “Leave him alone. If he is good, God will see to it that he will catch up with you. If he is otherwise, good riddance.”
Abū Dharr gave his camel every chance to pick up strength. He then realized that it was useless: the camel was absolutely exhausted. Feeling that there was no alternative, Abū Dharr dismounted, took his belongings off his camel and walked at a fast pace, hoping to catch up with the Prophet.
Soon, the Prophet stopped for a short while to allow the army a little rest. This stop gave Abū Dharr the chance to catch up. Someone standing near the Prophet pointed to the direction from which Abū Dharr was coming and said: “Messenger of God, there is a man walking alone in our trail.” The Prophet said, “Let it be Abū Dharr.” When the man drew nearer, they said: “Messenger of God, it is indeed Abū Dharr.” The Prophet said: “May God have mercy on Abū Dharr: he walks alone, dies alone and will be resurrected alone.”11
Here is another example of yet another companion of the Prophet scaling the unscaleable, motivated only by his faith. No army would punish a soldier for staying behind if his means of transport goes out of action in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps, if Abū Dharr had given his camel a day’s rest, the camel would have been able to catch up with the army the following day. That was too long for Abū Dharr to wait. Rather than stay behind, he continued his march on foot.
It is perhaps appropriate to mention here that the Prophet’s prophecy about Abū Dhārr’s death came true. When he was in his final illness, Abū Dharr was at a place called al-Rabadhah, not far from Madinah. However, there was no one with him at that place apart from his wife and his servant. When he realized that he was dying, Abū Dharr told them that when he died they should wash him and have him wrapped. They were to put his body out on the road. They were to wait for the first caravan to pass and to tell them that the dead man was Abū Dharr, the Prophet’s companion, and seek their help in burying him. When he actually died, his wife and servant did as he had told them. Soon a group of people from Iraq passed by on their way to Makkah to do the ʿUmrah. With them was another companion of the Prophet called ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd. They were surprised to see that there was a dead man in that place. The servant addressed them: “This is Abū Dharr, the Prophet’s companion. Help me bury him please.” ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd was in tears as he said: “The Prophet tells the truth. You walk alone, die alone and will be resurrected alone.” He dismounted with his companions and buried Abū Dharr. ʿAbdullāh also told his fellow travellers about what the Prophet had said in connection with Abū Dharr during the expedition of Tabūk.12
Where Are the Byzantines?
The army marched on in those most difficult circumstances. There was no chance that anyone would contemplate going back, but the prospect of taking on the Byzantine forces in battle was drawing ever nearer. Genuine believers, however, did not mind that prospect. It could bring them one of two eventualities: victory over the Byzantines or martyrdom for the cause of God.
Today Tabūk is a relatively short distance within the northern borders of Saudi Arabia. At the time it was very close to the borders of the Byzantine Empire. When the Muslim army arrived there it encamped, ready to take on the might of the Byzantines. According to the information received by the Prophet, the encounter should have taken place in those parts. The Muslims, however, found no traces of any Byzantine forces.13
There are two explanations for the Byzantines’ failure to clash with the Muslim army. The first is that the Byzantines withdrew their forces when they heard of the strength of the Muslim army. Had there been any confrontation in Tabūk, that would have been the second clash between the two sides within a short span of time. The first was Mu’tah, when the Muslim army was only 3,000 strong. In that clash, the Byzantine forces suffered heavy casualties, although the Muslim forces could not overrun their far superior forces. Now the Muslim army was ten times stronger. Hence, the prospect of fighting the Muslims did not appeal to the Byzantine Emperor.
The other explanation is that the information received by the Prophet was not correct. The Byzantines did not prepare an army to attack the Muslims in Arabia. That information about the mobilization of Byzantine forces was given by Coptic traders from Egypt doing business in Arabia. The present author finds the first explanation nearer to the truth. The Prophet would not have raised such a large army and marched such a long distance unless he was absolutely certain of the intelligence he received. In any case, the expedition stopped at Tabūk where the presence of the Muslim army was a demonstration of the strength of the Muslim state. The expedition was extremely useful to the Muslim community. The importance of the test provided by that expedition has already been mentioned. Moreover, it gave those Muslims who had embraced Islam only recently, after the conquest of Makkah and the Battle of Ḥunayn, a chance to discover for themselves what the requirement of jihād meant to every Muslim. There were also certain political gains to be made.
Dūmat al-Jandal
Tabūk was not very far from Dūmat al-Jandal, where a man from the tribe of Kindah called Ukaydīr ibn ʿAbd al-Mālik, a Christian, was the ruler. The Prophet sent a detachment of his forces under the command of Khālid ibn al-Walīd to bring Ukayder to him. The Prophet told his commander: “You will find him cow-hunting.”
It was a hot night at Dūmat al-Jandal. The ruler was with his wife on the roof of his palace. Bulls and cows came very close to the palace and rubbed its door and walls with their horns. His wife said to Ukayder: “Have you ever seen such a thing before?” When he answered in the negative, she encouraged him to go down and hunt. He ordered his horse to be prepared and went out with his brother and many of his servants. When they were out in the open and started to chase the bulls, Khālid ibn al-Walīd and his force arrived and were able to arrest them without difficulty. Ukayder’s brother, who was called Ḥasan, was killed. Ukayder was wearing a fine robe ornamented with gold. Khālid took it off him and sent it to the Prophet. When the messenger carrying it arrived, Muslims who felt the robe were amazed at its fine quality. The Prophet said: “Do you wonder at this robe? By Him who holds my soul in His hands, the handkerchief of Saʿd ibn Muʿādh in Heaven is far better than this.”
Khālid travelled back with Ukayder until he arrived at Tabūk. The Prophet spared the life of Ukayder and entered into a peace agreement with him. That required Ukayder to pay tax to the Muslim state and accept its authority. The Prophet then allowed him to go back to his town. Shortly after the Prophet went away, Ukayder violated the agreement and Khālid ibn al-Walīd was dispatched to re-establish the authority of the Muslim state there. Khālid overran Ukayder’s forces and was able to kill him.14
The Prophet recognized that those northern parts of Arabia which were very close to the Byzantine Empire were bound to be volatile. They could always be used by the Byzantines to create problems for the Muslim state in Arabia. The expedition to Dūmat al-Jandal should therefore be viewed in that light. It was undertaken in order to establish the authority of the Muslim state in those northern parts. It was indeed part of a more comprehensive effort which included several places. At Tabūk, the Prophet met Yūḥannah ibn Ru’bah, the ruler of a place called Aylah. He also entered into a peace agreement with the Prophet. The Prophet wrote him this document:
In the name of God, the Merciful, the Beneficent. This is a pledge of security given by God and Muhammad the Prophet, God’s Messenger, to Yūḥannah ibn Ru’bah and the people of Aylah, their boats and caravans travelling in land and on sea. They are given this covenant with God and with Muhammad the Prophet which includes all those who are with them, be they of the people of Syria or the people of Yemen or sailors. If any of them commits an offence, his money does not prevent his punishment in person. It is good for whoever takes it. They are not allowed to prevent people from making use of any spring of water which they have in land or sea.15
A delegation from the people of Jarbā’ and the people of Adhruḥ came to the Prophet and agreed to pay the Muslims a protection tax. The Prophet wrote them a document outlining the terms of their agreement, and they kept that document. These were significant steps because the agreements made by the Prophet with those people ensured that the Muslim state in Madinah feared no trouble from the northern parts of Arabia.16
The Prophet spent 20 days at Tabūk with the Muslim army. He then consulted his companions on whether to move on to Syria or return to Madinah. ʿUmar said to him: “Messenger of God, if you are ordered to march on, then do so.” The Prophet replied: “Had I been commanded to march on, I would not have consulted anyone.” ʿUmar said: “Messenger of God, the Byzantines command very large forces. There are no Muslims in Syria. You have certainly come close to them, and they are worried about your approach. It seems to me that it may be preferable to go back this year and wait for future events as they will be determined by God.” The Prophet acted on ʿUmar’s advice and gave his instructions for the army to go back to Madinah.17
A Hard Test is Concluded
Those were the events of the expedition of Tabūk which may be compared, in certain respects, to the Encounter of the Moat which had taken place four years earlier when the allied forces of the Quraysh, the Ghaṭafān and the Jews launched a pincer attack on Madinah with the aim of exterminating the Muslims. That was an encounter which set the Muslims a very hard test. No major battle took place then, but the test was enough to prove how seriously the Muslims took their religion and how much they were prepared to sacrifice for it.
The expedition of Tabūk provided another very hard test on a much wider scale. The difference between the two is that the Encounter of the Moat came at a time when the Muslim state was still confined to Madinah and the Muslim forces were well below 2,000. The expedition of Tabūk was at a time when many people were willing or eager to pretend to be Muslims in order to join in what they considered to be the heyday of Islam. It was necessary, therefore, for the Muslim community always to try to establish who was a true Muslim and who was a hypocrite.
The Prophet and the Muslim army started their return to Madinah after they had ascertained that there was no possibility of an encounter with the Byzantine forces. Needless to say, the returning army needed to replenish its stock of water on every possible occasion. The Prophet realized this and made sure that the army would not be without water. At a certain stage on the way back, the army was approaching a valley called al-Mushaqqaq. Knowing that there was only a trickling spring in that valley, the Prophet gave his instructions to all his soldiers that if any of them reached that spring before him, he must not use any water until the Prophet had arrived there.
But the main problem of the Muslim state at that time was the presence of the hypocrites. The expedition of Tabūk was a test to distinguish true believers from those who pretended to be Muslims. Although most hypocrites did not go on this expedition, a small number of them did. There were always those who deliberately disobeyed the orders of the Prophet, hoping that their disobedience would prove to others that the Prophet was only an ordinary ruler who achieved a measure of glory by skilfully exploiting favourable events and circumstances. On this particular occasion, a small group of hypocrites preceded the army and arrived at that spring before the rest. Aware that the Prophet did not wish anyone to use the water of that spring, they deliberately used all the water that was available in the small pond there, leaving only the trickling spring for the rest of the army.
When the Prophet arrived at the spring, he found no water there. He wanted to know who had arrived there first, and when he was told their names, he said: “Did I not make my instructions clear that no one should use this water?” The Prophet cursed those people and prayed to God not to have mercy on them. He then dismounted from his camel and put his hand underneath the trickling water. He kept his hand under the water for some time before taking some water and pouring it on to the spring itself. He then rubbed it with his hand and prayed to God in a low voice which was not audible to his companions. Soon, the water was gushing out in force. The entire army had all the water they needed to drink and to give their camels. They carried as much water as they could. As they were leaving, the Prophet told them that those of them who lived for a few years more would hear that that valley would be the most fertile in the whole area.18
A Loner is Laid to Rest
Another incident which took place on the way back from Tabūk was that reported by ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd, a companion of the Prophet who was known for his profound knowledge of Islam, his thorough study of the Qur’ān and his sure knowledge of the Prophet’s traditions and pronouncements. He says that one night he woke up and noticed the light of a small fire at one side of the army. He went there and found the Prophet with his two closest companions, Abū Bakr and ʿUmar. He also realized that ʿAbdullāh al-Muznī, also known as Dhul-Bijādayn, had died. The Prophet and his companions dug a grave for him and the Prophet went down and asked his two companions to lower the body of the deceased. The Prophet said to them: “Lower your brother and hand him to me.” They did, and he put him in his grave lying on one side. He then prayed to God: “My Lord, I am pleased with him, be pleased with him.” When ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd heard this prayer of the Prophet, he wished he was the man being buried in that grave.19
It is perhaps proper to mention here something about this man who was honoured by the Prophet in this way. The Prophet could very easily have instructed some of his companions to dig a grave and bury the man when he died. However, he was eager to make everyone realize that he himself held the deceased man in high esteem.
ʿAbdullāh was an orphan. When his father died, he left him nothing. His uncle was his guardian and helped him lead a successful life, and ʿAbdullāh was soon wealthy. He and his family lived with their tribe in an area not far from Madinah. When the Prophet arrived there the boy, whose original name was ʿAbd al-ʿUzzā, realized the merit of Islam and wished to be a Muslim. However, he could not disobey his uncle, who made it clear that he had no interest in being a Muslim. After a few years had passed, the boy said to his uncle: “I have been waiting for you to adopt Islam, but I see that you have no intention of doing so. Allow me, then, to follow the Prophet.”
His uncle was angry and told him: “By God, if you follow Muhammad, I will deprive you of everything I have given you. I will confiscate everything you have, including the garments you are wearing.” The boy was not to be put off. He said to his uncle: “I am indeed following Muhammad and abandoning idolatrous worship. You may take everything I have.” His uncle took all his property and carried out his threat to the letter. He even made him take off his clothes.
The boy then went to his mother and asked her to give him something to cover his body. She had a very thick garment which she gave him. He took it and managed to make his way stealthily to Madinah. When he arrived there, he cut the garment in two and wrapped one half around his body and put the other piece over his shoulders. He went straight to the mosque in the middle of the night. When the Prophet had finished his dawn prayers, he saw him and asked him his name. When he answered that his name was ʿAbd al-ʿUzzā (which meant servant of al-ʿUzzā, a famous idol), the Prophet renamed him as ʿAbdullāh, and gave him the title of Dhul-Bijādayn, which meant the man with two thick garments. He told him to keep close to him. If the Prophet had any guests, Dhul-Bijādayn was always among them. He managed to learn considerable portions of the Qur’ān over a short time. When the Prophet was about to march to Tabūk, Dhul-Bijādayn asked him to pray to God to make him a martyr. The Prophet wrapped his upper arm with some plant and said: “My Lord, do not let the unbelievers shed his blood.” The man said that he did not want that. The Prophet told him that if he went out on an expedition of jihād and fell ill and died, then he would be a martyr. If his horse or camel threw him and he broke his neck and died, he would be a martyr. It was in the expedition of Tabūk that ʿAbdullāh Dhul-Bijādayn died.20
One cannot fail to notice the fact that the Prophet did care for his companions as individuals. That boy would in all probability have remained just another person, had he joined any community other than that of the Muslims at the time of the Prophet. The Prophet, however, appreciated his keen desire to be a Muslim. He realized that he had strong faith. Otherwise, he would not willingly have agreed to be deprived of all his money in order to join the Prophet and the Muslim community.
Superior Compassion
Caring for individuals was something that came naturally to the Prophet. He was God’s Messenger to all mankind. He could not, then, belittle any human being, no matter how humble he was. Another incident which shows how much the Prophet cared for every individual among his companions is the one reported by Abū Ruhm Kulthūm ibn al-Ḥusayn. He had been a companion of the Prophet for some time before the expedition of Tabūk. Indeed, he was among those who pledged their readiness to sacrifice themselves at the time of al-Ḥudaybiyah, when the Prophet asked his companions to make that pledge which was to be known as ‘the Pledge under the Tree’. He mentioned that during the expedition of Tabūk, he was on his camel one night close to the Prophet. Many of the Muslims were sleepy, but they marched on. He kept dozing off and waking up suddenly, realizing that his camel was drawing nearer to that of the Prophet. He feared that if his camel drew very close, he might hurt the Prophet’s leg. However, he was no longer able to stay awake. As he dozed off, his camel was very close to that of the Prophet. He woke up suddenly as he heard the Prophet expressing his pain. He apologized to the Prophet and asked him to pray for his forgiveness.
The Prophet asked him to march alongside him. He questioned him about those who did not join the army from his own tribe, the Ghifār. He mentioned their names. The Prophet then asked him about “those tall men with thin hair in their beards.” Abū Ruhm mentioned that they did not join the army. The Prophet then asked about “those short people with thick black hair.” Abū Ruhm said that he did not know any group of people in the Ghifār tribe who answered that description. The Prophet affirmed that there were such people and mentioned that they had some cattle near a spring called Shabakat Shadakh. Abū Ruhm then remembered that they were a group from a clan called Aslam and they were allied to the Ghifār. He mentioned that fact to the Prophet who said: “If any of those men wanted to stay behind, could he not have given a camel to a man who wanted dearly to join the army? I feel particularly sorry when anyone from the Muhājirīn, the Anṣār, the Ghifār or the Aslam stays behind when we go on an expedition in support of God’s cause.”21
The army went back the whole way and as it approached Madinah, the Prophet sent two of his companions to destroy the mosque built by the hypocrites outside the city in order to be a centre of conspiracy against Islam. Following the Prophet’s order, the two men destroyed the place and set it on fire.22
The army was received in Madinah by all the Muslims there. Women and children were singing and chanting, feeling very happy at the return of the Prophet and his companions. When the Prophet had settled back in Madinah, the hypocrites who stayed behind came to him offering their excuses for not joining the army. Every one of them asked the Prophet to forgive him, and the Prophet readily did so.23 There was, however, a special case which involved three individuals who stayed behind but were not among the hypocrites. Their case is discussed in the next chapter.
NOTES
1. Ibn Hishām, al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah, Dār al-Qalam, Beirut, Vol. 1, pp. 173-174
2. Al-Wāqidī, Kitāb al-Maghāzī, Oxford University Press, 1996, Vol. 3, p. 990.
3. Ibid., pp. 991-992. Also, Ibn Hishām, op.cit., pp. 159-161.
4. Ibn Hishām, op.cit., pp. 160-162. Also, al-Wāqidī, op.cit., pp. 995-996.
5. Ibn Hishām, op.cit., pp. 161-162. Also, al-Wāqidī, op.cit., p. 994.
6. Ibn Hishām, op.cit., pp. 168-169.
7. Al-Wāqidī, op.cit., p. 1002.
8. Ibn Hishām, op.cit., pp. 162-163.
9. Ibid., pp. 163-164.
10. Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāyah wal-Nihāyah, Maktabat al-Maʿārif, Beirut, Vol. 5, p. 5.
11. Ibn Hishām, op.cit., p. 167.
12. Ibid., p. 168.
13. Ibid., p. 170.
14. Ibid., pp. 169-170.
15. Ibid., p. 169. Also, al-Wāqidī, op.cit., pp. 1025-1030.
16. Al-Wāqidī, op.cit., p. 1031.
17. Ibid., p. 1019.
18. Ibn Hishām, op.cit., p. 171.
19. Ibid., p. 171.
20. Al-Wāqidī, op.cit., pp. 1013-1014.
21. Ibn Hishām, op.cit., pp. 172-173.
22. Ibid., pp. 173-174.
23. Ibn Sayyid al-Nās, ʿUyūn al-Athar, Dār al-Turāth, Madinah, 1996, p. 301.